Rising Hope
by zethonring
Summary: A brief tale telling the story of a small group of ordinary civilians in Gotham around the time of Bane's siege and Batman's disappearance. Kurt Warwick will go to any lengths to protect his sister.


**Rising Hope**

Kurt Warwick was always bright for his age; it seemed to make life just that much easier. The problem was brains didn't count for much these days, even brawn wouldn't be all that helpful, not with the way things were now. It was cold, unbearably so, the streets were lined with snow, this winter seemed never ending. There was something wrong with the city, not just in the obvious ways but in the air, things didn't feel quite right after "he" disappeared. Kurt shook his head, now wasn't the time to be reminisce about the past, "he" was gone and was most likely never coming back. This city had gone to hell and there was no way anything would change that now.

Kurt stood facing the figures of four enormous men, each of them staring at him in clear frustration. Behind him stood his older sister, shivering in the cold and the shadows concealing her bruised face. 'Move out of the way kid' one of the men said. Kurt held his ground, he intended fully intended to protect his sister or die trying. 'Look kid, we don't want to hurt you, our business is with that girl behind you, step aside and I'll forget this ever happened' the man said. 'That girl just so happens to be my sister and I won't let her go with the likes of you ever again, no matter how much food you give us' Kurt exclaimed.

The men were getting restless now, that much was obvious. Kurt often thought about the irony of the situation, he had spent so much of his childhood with his sister, following in her footsteps and being protected ; now through no fault of his own he was protecting her. Their parents were gone; a lot of people didn't make it out of the football stadium, now it was just the two of them, left to fend for themselves, Kurt was always reassured by the idea that his father would be proud of him. There were times during his younger days when he had yearned to be free of her protective glare and lead a more adventurous life, now the very idea of being without her in this warzone was unthinkable, she was broken, she needed him just as much as he needed her. 'That's a sweet sentiment kid, but you see the thing is, there's no room for sentiment in this city. Just hand her over and you'll get her back by tomorrow' said one of the more reasonable men. 'What exactly do you guys want with her anyway?' Kurt asked. He regretted that question as soon as he'd asked it, he'd always had his suspicions but never wanted to admit them to himself, but the food had to come from somewhere. 'I haven't got time for this squirt, tomorrow is D-day, the big guy said so himself, it's gonna by chaos but I plan on going down fighting, at the very least I'd like to have some fun on my last night, don't worry I'll be gentle with her' the man said. Kurt was disgusted at his attempt to justify his actions, but he was more shocked at his sister's words. 'Kurt it's okay, I'll go with them, just be safe okay, I'm sure 'he'll' find a way' she said, Kurt chuckled a bit inside at the very notion that there were people that still had faith in "him" perhaps that was an idea that kept them going. Kurt considered buying into some of this faith, if these men were going to kill him; the least he could do was try to scare them first. 'He'll stop you' Kurt mumbled as the men drew closer. 'What's that?' one of them asked. 'I said he will stop you, for you see, he's back and better than ever' Kurt couldn't believe what he was saying, he felt so silly but at the same time it was so liberating to feel something other than dread or despair. 'Who the hell are you talking about?' one asked. Kurt drew his breath and then uttered a single name, 'Batman.'

This was met with an immediate silence followed by a roar of laughter. Kurt felt himself going a little red as the men continued to mock him. 'The bat? He's been dead for months you dweeb' one man said as he continued laughing. 'I'm pretty sure he ran for the hills, like anyone with common sense would knowing that a bomb is about to go off, either that or Bane killed him, you've got a better chance of being saved by the tooth fairy' another man said. Upon hearing this last sentence Kurt stomped his foot on the ground screaming in fury 'He's not dead!' his yell echoed through the street as it silenced everyone. The silence however was broken much sooner than Kurt would have liked. 'You know what kid, I've had just about enough of you, take him out.' Kurt stumbled backwards, grabbing hold of his sister before falling over; if this was his time he wanted it to be with the person he held dearest. As they closed in on him Kurt closed his eyes, not wanting to see whatever form of pain he was about to endure. He waited… and waited… nothing happened. He considered opening his eyes when one of the men said something, something that confused Kurt just as much as it did the rest of them, 'Impossible.'

Kurt opened his eyes and saw the men above him were looking at something far away. Craning his head he saw something that almost made his heart stop in excitement. It was none other than Batman's symbol illuminating the Gotham Bridge. 'Jesus, I think this guy was telling the telling the truth' one man said. 'I don't care whether it was the truth I'm out of here' another man said and the rest followed, fleeing rapidly. Kurt and his sister composed themselves as they stood. 'I don't believe it' she said. 'Me neither' he said. 'You know… that was really brave of you Kurt, you're a hero' she said. 'Anyone can be a Hero Amy.' People from inside the buildings were looking now, curtain after curtain was being parted as they examined the glorious symbol ahead. Kurt could feel it now, something rising within, something he hadn't felt in a very long time, something which didn't make Bane or the bomb seem so scary anymore, it was hope.


End file.
